Fishing Etiquette

Fishing Etiquette - Where Has It Gone
By Trevor Kugler

Fishing etiquette, sometimes I have to wonder if anyone's ever heard of such a thing. The word etiquette is defined as: The forms required by good breeding, or prescribed by authority, to be observed in social or official life; observance of the proprieties of rank and occasion; conventional decorum; ceremonial code of polite society.

So why is it that as soon as I get on a river, I invariably end up fishing near someone who has never heard the above definition? It seems as if as soon as people get into a fishing situation, all rules of society are thrown out the window and it becomes a free for all. I mean it says, right in the definition, 'ceremonial codes of polite society'. When it comes to fishing, especially on a river, one of those 'ceremonial codes of polite society' is to allow other anglers there personal space just as you would afford them in any other social situation. I mean, for God's sake, just because were out on the river fishing it doesn't mean that we have to become complete inconsiderate idiots, does it?

I'm of course referring to a situation that I got caught up in, not too long ago, on one of my local rivers. I had been fishing along a very nice stretch of water for about twenty minutes, when a couple of other fishermen came walking along the river. They kept there distance as we exchanged friendly glances, and they began fishing about fifty yards from where I was.